The invention relates to the arrangement of anti-roll torsion bars for the running gear, in particular for the bridge guided with draw bars and having a rigid axle in motor vehicles for public traffic. The arrangement can be equally used for constructions suspended with coil-, plate-, and/or pneumatic springs.
Continuously increasing motorization involves increased demands in respect to the elements of the motor vehicles, which are of special importance from the point of view of safety. This category includes the suspending elements of the running gears, i.e. the anti-roll torsion bars preventing excessive lateral tilting of the vehicle body.
Running gears with rigid axles of vehicles with a large total mass (autobusses, lorriers etc.) used to be guided by longitudinal and transversal draw bars, while lateral tilting of the vehicle body occurring under the influence of the curved travel of the vehicle is reduced by using anti-roll torsion bars.
Running gear has to be connected to the vehicle body so, that coupling should ensure motion on an approximately vertical path, as required by springing of the running gear, i.e. transmission of force effects between running gear and vehicle body should be guaranteed. Expediently this requirement can be met by using longitudinal and transversal draw bars.
The body of the vehicle travelling on a curved path is tilting to the side around the so-called axle of transversal stability under the influence of the affecting centrifugal force. Excessive lateral tilting of the vehicle body is most detrimental from the point of view of vehicle stability and safety. Therefore, to prevent lateral tilting anti-roll torsion bars are used.
An anti-roll torsion bar assembly used in heavy-category motor vehicles can be characterized in that it has a bar running parallel with the axle of the running gear and further has two arms. Upon lateral tilting of the vehicle body the ends of the arms become displaced and owing to its torsional elasticity the anti-roll torsion bar (stabilizer) is giving a moment onto the vehicle body which tries to tilt back the vehicle body in its basic position.
The two functions (guiding of the axle and stabilizing) can be realized with two independent systems, or by uniting the two systems.
The application of the latter solution is motivated by less space requirement and smaller mass.
However, with solutions resulting from the combination of the two systems, several problems are to be confronted with:
lateral displacement of the vehicle body causes accessory bending load of the draw bars and the torsion bars;
break of the stabilizer involves the "loss" of the running gear.
The anti-roll torsion bar according to the German Patent DE-AS No. 2 161 058 is also subjected to an accessory bending load. The swinging lever of the anti-roll torsion bar being parallel with the longitudinal axis of the vehicle is rigidly clamped at the end of the torsion bar, while the torsion bar is formed as a bar being parallel with the rigid axle.